The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Who has their original pine bed?

I have owned my 1946 Chevy 1/2 ton since 1973 and attended more shows and cruises than I can count. It suddenly occurred to me that I can not remember another truck of this vintage with the original bed intact. I have been questioned about the lack of metal strips and hear is the story handed down from the original owner: Upon delivery of his new Chevy, he questioned the lack of metal strips and was told by the salesperson that due to the residual steel shortage from WWII when the truck was built in February 1946, the strips saved from every 3-4 trucks could be utilized for a fender.

The truck has been stored inside for the past 50 years and only recently benefited from a couple of linseed oil applications.

I do. I showed it to a guy the other day and apologized for its condition and he said that is heritage. I agreed because that is why I have not replaced it. My truck was in excellent shape when I got it in June of 1983, except the steering would wander a bit. Unrestored until 2012. It was almost a daily driver for me when my son got his driver's license. I had 2 other cars plus my 1960 MGA which again was not a good vehicle in bad weather. I would like it to be a daily driver but I am thinking of putting collector car Insurance but they restrict your mileage.

The wood is very different than a stock bed. It is hard to tell from the picture but it almost looks like there is no off-set recess for the carriage bolt washers (the bolts that holds the bed to frame). These recesses are important to allow proper torque when assembling the bed. More certain is the lack of spacing between the boards which should be on the order of 1/2 inch or more. With the steel strips, these spaces are covered, allowing expansion and contraction of the wood. It is hard to imagine that the wood design would be re-engineered for such a brief time. I am wondering if the "salesperson" had to come up with a story to cover what really happened. But it looks nice and is certainly part of the heritage of that truck.
Kent

I'm with Kent on it not being original. The wood on original beds has no bolts thru it other than the outer two boards to the angle strips and the bolts that hold the bed on the frame. Otherwise, all the bolts go through the steel strips and into the cross sills and not through the wood. The plank widths would have been as wide as the distance between the bolts you can see on your picture. By 1946, wartime material restrictions were off, so the salesperson was talking through his hat about the steel in the strips being used for fenders instead. I'm sure that GM would have come up with more economical ways to conserve steel. But it does look decent and somewhat unique.

My ‘62 is original.

Kent, I was thinking along the same lines when I saw the picture of the bed. I think the previous owner was exercising a little salesmanship. The bed looks good, I don't think it is original.

Amazing how the opinions about post-war production can come flying out of the woodwork. The bed in my truck is of tongue-n-groove southern yellow pine with no spaces for the metal an rows of carriage bolts fastening the bed down to the cross members. As stated before, my truck was made in February 1946 and just because the wartime restrictions were lifted, it would have no bearing on the actual availability of materials. In 2002 I lived 13 miles from the Janesville assembly plant and had the opportunity to ask an "old timer", former head of the union, and he verified that this practice was in place in early 1946.

Looks like the bolts aren't even in a straight line. Seems like the factory could
get them in line and make sure all boards were secured with a bolt. 4 th from right is missing one
IDK. Nice bed.

I don't think anyone is calling you out. It is just none of us have seen this set up before and are trying to understand the back story. You have to admit based on your truck appearing to be a one off for this group there would be some questions. You have no reason to doubt what the previous owner told you. It appears to be a unicorn and this is a curious group.

Back to the original question "Who has their original pine bed". Nope, but I did up until 2022 when out it came for the restoration.

Lots of possible explanations here. Post COVID, we have experienced supply chain problems that probably pale compared to what post-WWII was like. We also know that trucks from one GM plant may not be exactly the same from another (i.e. discussions about the proper color of the engine). So I can accept that this may have been a factory build. But, as Dave says, I am still curious...

46 Texaco, please clarify my observation that the carriage bolt washers do not appear to be recessed. In order to torque the bolts, which are responsible for holding the bed to the frame, the washers cannot be allowed to spin. That is why the holes for the carriage bolt in the washer recess are offset . If they are indeed, not recessed, I have trouble accepting that the factory would release trucks with the beds loose on the frame. If they are recessed properly, then the story is plausible.
Kent

Ah the semantics of wording.

"
The truck has been stored inside for the past 50 years and only recently benefited from a couple of linseed oil applications."


This is really a important sentence in the discussion.
Anything taken care of and maintained will last. And since his boards are over 50+ years old. I go with close enough.

I doubt you will find "original" pine on anything that was stored outside to get hit with the sun and will "maintained" by the dropped liquids in the back.

I have seen a '62 (other than Martin's) that had original bed wood. The owner had a heavy rubber mat covering the wood, and when he lifted it, the wood was definitely solid. Protection from the elements is critical. I restored a Model A pickup back in the '60's and put maple in the bed. It always lived outside and the wood curled and cracked in just a few years.

Dusty, nice shot of the old boards.
Was that 3/4 ton an eight foot box?
I hope you kept them for reference, as far as profile, size , hole location !
If Texaco’s bed is original, and folks collected trucks the way they do coins,
then that anomaly would jump up the value!
Many of us have had original beds, the wood almost always rotten.
But if kept out of the weather, they would last like floors in a house!
Maple , by the way, just doesn’t stand up to outdoor exposure.
The old southern pine was about as good as anything for durability.
This is getting to be a spoon style discussion!

It is a 3/4 ton. I purchased the pine bed wood kit from Mar-K and used dark tung oil to finish it.

Texaco's bed is the bed he's got and the history behind it is the history he has to work with so I'll happily go with his truth. For all we know, or will ever know. the original owners Dealership story may be completely true.

Well this is the How to Make a Stovebolt Bed forum so I think we are still ok.

I believe the wood in my 1951 bed to be original. Perhaps preserved by the PO applying used motor oil or whatever he used.

Yes, Dusty, and Texaco, I didn’t mean to imply I doubt your bed is original!
It’s a great story.

I do, as well.

As most of you know, when my truck's 1st owner bought the truck, he immediately removed the entire bed and stored it. He used a utility body on the truck for years. The original bed was replaced on the truck in the late '80's or early '90's before it came to Peggy and I.

1949 3804. Preserved. A few updates (seat belts, 261 engine) but otherwise unrestored.

As for the rest of you who *claim* to have original bed wood still ... show us PICTURES or you are lying!!

John, I love the truck. That red and black is a great color combo and the originality of the truck is just how I like them.

JW’s bed:

Nice JW! THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

I read your comment about what you paid and I had to think of what I paid for a running and driving truck with very little rust. $1200.00. I drove it to work after my son got his driver's license.

Here is an original bed. No plans to "improve" it.

Karl

Welcome back, Karl!

Howdy John! All work, no play, call me Jack